Bright light

      Did you catch that light? It was stunning to see; so sudden in its appearance, so illuminating in its brightness.

      That light was so refreshing since media in this second decade of the 21st century can be so dark, so depressing, so mind-numbingly inane. The 24-hour news channels (from MSNBC all the way to Fox News, the other end of the spectrum) are brimming with such drivel: people espousing one side of an issue, another touting the other side and an anchor who eggs both on into a screaming match. I cannot watch.

      And from all sides, it’s not enough to be so-called “correct” about an issue. You also have to humiliate and destroy the opposing side. What’s absent is civility, respect for other opinions and, most importantly, the ability to see from another point of view.

      What’s also missing in our world is forgiveness. Often, the first thought when we have been wronged is to lash out, to seek that pound of flesh. It’s one of the most human of reactions. It’s usually born of shock, grief or anger. It’s a selfish notion, that idea of revenge.

      But two weeks ago, in the aftermath of the unspeakable horror at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, a flash of light illumined the dark. We saw families, who had had loved ones murdered as they welcomed a stranger into their midst, utter the rarest of words: “I forgive you.”

      What? You forgive him? You forgive someone who ended nine lives in a matter of minutes? You forgive someone who entered a house of worship with the intent to violate God’s most important law? Really? Forgive?

      But by forgiving, those families disarmed the attacker and the message of fear and distrust that he carried. They took that weapon of anger and turned into a message of hope and love.

      Those families were following God’s message to us through Christ. If the entire New Testament could be boiled down to one word, that word could be “forgiveness.” Jesus forgave those who nailed him to the cross. He set the standard that Christians follow. Those families heard that example and, through their grief, lived that example.

      As it’s written in Acts 26:18 “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

      Did you catch that light? It was stunning to see; so sudden in its appearance, so illuminating in its brightness.